Harris hails Millwall display after Bristol Rovers rout

MILLWALL boss Neil Harris was delighted with his side after their demolition of Bristol Rovers at The Den on Saturday afternoon.

The Lions moved up to eighth in League One after a comprehensive 4-0 victory courtesy of goals from Aiden O’Brien, Shaun Williams and Lee Gregory, with league debutant Harry Smith completing the rout late on.

And Harris feels it was the best performance he has seen from his side have played since taking charge back in March 2015.

“The first 35 minutes, or so, I thought was the best we’ve played since I’ve been in charge.” Harris explained after Saturday’s win.

“Against ten or 11 men, I thought our use of the ball was excellent. We looked lively and our tempo was very good, we looked dangerous, we created chances and we got crosses in the box.

“Then we struggled to keep that going just before and after half time. Bristol Rovers gained momentum; they went very risk and reward.

“They had three at the back and pushed people along, even with ten men they caused us problems, we had to defend really well.

“Our quality came through in the end when we used the ball well. There were a lot of aspects with our play I was really pleased with.”

Bristol Rovers were reduced to 10 men when Dean Leadbitter was shown a straight red after 14 minutes after he was adjudged to have been the last man after bringing down O’Brien on the edge of the box.

And the Lions’ boss feels his side did well to score when on top, despite having to play against ten men for the majority of the afternoon.

“I think the red card did affected them,” Harris said. “Their manager had to re-adjust and we had a good spell after that.

“I said to the boys red cards change games, why was it a red card? Because we were clean through on goal.

“Aiden gets in and is pulled down, we know how dangerous he is in those positions. We could have been in front anyway.”

Harris added: “I think it's important that you score when you're on top, and we certainly did that. I think we could have had three or four in the first half an hour, I thought we were really threatening.

“I was a little disappointed, however, we didn't have another one before half time, just to ease the pressure and expectation a little bit. That was the key moment – the second goal.

“We just slightly got on top again and we scored, that’s vital in games of football that when you are dictating play and you are having spells, that you score, they are real key moments and you need to get them right in both boxes."